HAITIAN CITIZENS POLICE ACADEMY, Delray Beach, Florida

A rapid influx of Haitian immigrants to Delray Beach, Florida, in the 1990s has brought the number of Haitian and Haitian American residents to nearly 17,000, over 30 percent of the city’s population. Often risking their lives by sailing to America in search of political freedom and the American promise of a better life, these immigrants are faced with difficult language and cultural barriers in their new communities. Many newly arrived Haitian residents have little or no understanding of local laws and police practices. In addition, former victimization by Haitian police in their native country has instilled a fear and mistrust of authority. For Delray Beach police and other city officials challenged with providing effective law enforcement, safe streets, and community stability, an urgent need arose to establish trust and communication with its new residents.

Wilner Athouriste, Haitian Roving Patrol volunteer on duty Gelatin silver print © Joan Liftin 1999	Dancers rehearsing for Haitian Flag Day ceremonies at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church Gelatin silver print © Joan Liftin 1999

Working solutions are being realized with the help of a volunteer community-policing program initiated by the Delray Beach Police Department. Through this program Haitian American participants are partnering with law enforcement officers to supplement a security and communication presence on area streets. A key component of this effort—the Haitian Citizens Police Academy and Roving Patrol—recruits and trains Haitian American volunteers to talk with people in their own community about crime and government and to improve relations with the local police. Delray Beach neighborhoods, committed to residents and their safety, are seeing remarkable improvements in cultural understanding and in relations between citizens, law enforcement, and city officials. Locals are also succeeding in creating a new community that combines Haitian customs and contemporary American culture.

Photographer Joan Liftinis director of documentary and photojournalism education at the International Center of Photography. She is known as a social observer who is interested in issues of race, international identity, and urban life. Her images present a security volunteer patrolling the streets in his car and residents of Delray Beach practicing a dance they will perform for Haitian Flag Day ceremonies. Also pictured is a Haitian American man holding a picture of his fiancée, who drowned while coming to the United States aboard an illegal boat that sank, and a mourning for drowned Haitians.

Interviewer Merle Augustin is a journalist living in Florida who has written extensively about Haitian issues in the United States and in Haiti. Her interviews present government police officers, community leaders, and citizen watch members who join in telling the story of Delray Beach, underlining the communication, cooperation, and joint organization that was necessary to transform their community. quotation from an interview

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